Is this a stupid idea? [modified]

[NOD32 user]

In that case, definitely film it! :laugh: Cheers :)

[DawieJoubert]

... if it isn't one of those older drum lawnmowers ... I would definitely remove he blades ... :omg:

[leppie]

Josh Gray wrote:

Should I give her a bit with the drill and see if it'll start or is it likely the engine will throw the drill into my face, shin or other body part?

I doubt you have a 5kw drill capable of doing that :)

xacc.ide - now with TabsToSpaces support
IronScheme - 1.0 alpha 3 out now

[Lost User]

leppie wrote:

I doubt you have a 5kw drill capable of doing that [Smile]

Nope, just a dinky little 14v cordless. Seems to turn the engine with very little effort. I doubt if its even 100cc

[Lost User]

No, it'll be fine, a motor will idle at about 1000 rpm anyway, well within the speed of the drill. Just be ready to pull the drill off when the motor starts up.

Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription

[Lost User]

_Damian S_ wrote:

You realise that for about $30 you can usually buy a new pull-cord assembly from your local mower shop, right?

But its not as much fun as a drill though.

Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription

[hairy_hats]

Can't you just keep the kids indoors / away while cutting the grass? Doesn't seem an insurmountable problem...

[TimFoxell]

Josh, Go for it... We had the same problem with our old lawn mower, no rip cord... Dad used to start it with the drill just as you described. Laters, Tim.

TimmyFox

[Gary Wheeler]

That's going a little south of the groin.

Software Zen: delete this;

[SimonRigby]

Yeah I agree with Hans .. sounds fine. What? Where am I going? Oh nowhere. I just left something behind this big wall. You carry on. :)

The only thing unpredictable about me is just how predictable I'm going to be.

[SimonRigby]

Ah go with Chlorine and Brake Fluid .. makes a bigger bang .. and hey a nice cloud of toxic gas .. lol. As my dad used to say .. if it's worth doing it's worth doing properly :)

The only thing unpredictable about me is just how predictable I'm going to be.

[SimonRigby]

LOL It's too late for that now .. we're on a role :)

The only thing unpredictable about me is just how predictable I'm going to be.

[SimonRigby]

Hey Josh, can you give a me run down of your primary skills. Just so I can brush up to fill any potential gap in the market :)

The only thing unpredictable about me is just how predictable I'm going to be.

[ghle]

I hear ya. I justified buying a welder so I could repair a crack on the deck of my mower. Burning metal - now that is way cool! I can't understand how the starter recoil spring went under anything that needs a gasket. I've torn apart my share of mowers (and starters), and the starting mechanism is always bolted on externally. Regarding the payoff being $30/hour. If I'm lounging watching the telli, my cost ain't $30/hour. So if do it myself, I save $30/hour, not loose $60/hour. I wouldn't be working anyhow during that time. Good luck. Send pictures. We'll send flowers to cheer you up.

Gary

[Zhat]

Agree, and when you're done there, try hitting a fully inflated basketball with a baseball bat....it has the potential for winning an oscar!! :laugh:

[Zhat]

Stupid...better to have your spouse do it...

[W Balboos GHB]

You've missed the proverbial forest because the even more proverbial trees were in the way. Getting it running implies mowing a lawn.* Why would you want to mow a lawn to begin with? Also - don't be so foolish as to water or fertilize the damn thing. All that will do is encourage growth - which, for those who mow, requires it be done more often. And doing work who's only fruits will yet more work to do is, my friend, quite insane. * Unless you like the sound of a mower, which, although preferrable to Rap and Hip-Hop, is still a taste not easily aquired.

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"How do you find out if you're unwanted if everyone you try to ask tells you to go away?" - Balboos HaGadol

[Geoff Gariepy]

It's an exceedingly *bad* idea. If you're handy enough to clean and gap the plug, then you're handy enough to fix the rope start, it is not a complex mechanism. I recently learned through experience that it is worth the $7 or so to get proper recoil cord instead of substituting whatever you may have on hand; the stuff is readily available from the big box home improvement stores in the U.S. (Lowes, etc.) The engine will probably fire and quite possibly run, if everything is set up properly. That puts you in a position with your hands near the turning blade with potentially as much as ~6hp driving it. It is not a safe idea. Don't try running it without the blade, either. The blade provides the mass the engine uses as a flywheel, and all sorts of unpredictable stuff will happen if the engine starts to run without it. Chances are very good that if the engine has compression and the crankshaft is not bent then you will be able to make a working proposition out of it with minimal expense. Do things safely and correctly and you'll have your health so you can enjoy mowing the lawn! :-) --Geoff

[Brady Kelly]

We need an engineer, maybe Mr. Wright, to shed some light on the EMF generated by the mower spinning the drill motor fighting it out with the EMF from the grid or battery that used to be the primary driver of the drill motor.

Semicolons: The number one seller of ostomy bags world wide. - dan neely

[Laurence Hudson]

This is a wonderfully stupid idea, and is well worth investigating! If you have any fingers left at the conclusion of the project, let us know how it went. If you have a crisis of confidence, however, replace the recoil starter. Your various bits will thank you, however mutely.